Government: Page

  • ONC head Micky Tripathi stands behind a podium.
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    Q&A

    ONC’s Micky Tripathi on laying the digital floor for healthcare AI

    The agency head discussed ONC’s accomplishments over the past two decades, improving documentation burden among clinicians and artificial intelligence opportunities.

    By Emily Olsen • June 20, 2024
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    Opinion

    Price transparency enforcement is a shared responsibility

    A principal strategist at Turquoise Health argues that regulatory enforcement is crucial for hospitals to post files compliant with price transparency goals.

    By Carol Skenes • June 20, 2024
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    Trendline

    Surprise Billing

    Federal legislation banning surprise bills has hit a barrage of roadblocks, complicating efforts to protect consumers from unexpected out-of-network charges.

    By Healthcare Dive staff
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    Novant calls off plan to purchase CHS hospitals following FTC challenge

    Novant abandoned its merger plans after an appellate court granted federal regulators more time to challenge the deal. 

    By Susanna Vogel • June 20, 2024
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    Uninsured rate expected to hit 8.9% over next decade, CBO finds

    New government projections chart a rise in the nation’s uninsured rate as policies that swelled healthcare coverage during the coronavirus pandemic expire.

    By • June 18, 2024
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    Change Healthcare cyberattack

    CMS to end Change Healthcare cyberattack financial relief program

    The Medicare funding program, which launched in March to ease cash flow challenges for providers, will stop accepting applications July 12.

    By Emily Olsen • June 18, 2024
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    Amazon expands drug subscription program to Medicare members

    RxPass is now available to more than 50 million Medicare members after Amazon brought it into compliance with the program’s regulatory standards.

    By • June 18, 2024
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    Tracking Steward's decline

    Lawmakers ask Department of Labor to protect Steward workers

    Steward has a vested interest in keeping workers happy. Its assets, which the health system plans to sell this summer, could lose value if physicians quit.

    By Susanna Vogel • June 18, 2024
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    Change Healthcare cyberattack

    Biden administration gives providers grace period to open surprise billing arbitration

    Because of the cyberattack on Change Healthcare earlier this year, providers say they’re having difficultly getting the necessary information from plans required to kick off the dispute resolution process.

    By • June 17, 2024
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    VA extends EHR modernization contract with Oracle

    Despite patient safety and technical concerns plaguing the years-long rollout of the new electronic health record, the Department of Veterans Affairs extended its contract with Oracle for another 11 months.

    By Emily Olsen • June 14, 2024
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    Lawmakers promise to stop kicking the can on Medicare solvency

    The House Budget Committee met Thursday and said they’d take action to restore Medicare’s financial footing, though the hearing was light on specifics.

    By • June 14, 2024
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    Alex Wong via Getty Images
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    CMMI’s savings record sparks concern among lawmakers

    Republicans at a House subcommittee hearing chided the innovation center for increasing federal spending, even as CMMI’s director said each tested model has resulted in valuable learnings.

    By Emily Olsen • June 14, 2024
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    CMS recalculates Medicare Advantage star ratings in major win for insurers

    The redo comes after regulators lost two court cases over the methodology used to determine 2024’s quality ratings and should result in hundreds of millions of dollars in additional bonuses to plans.

    By • June 14, 2024
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    Proposed rule would wipe medical debt from credit scores

    The vice president also called for states to increase oversight of their nonprofit health systems’ charity care programs, noting some patients incurred debt when they should have qualified for assistance. 

    By Susanna Vogel • June 13, 2024
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    Q&A

    Complex environments, 24/7 availability: Why cybersecurity poses a unique challenge for hospitals

    Andrew Carney from HHS agency ARPA-H explains why hospitals struggle with cybersecurity and talks about a new program that aims to help them defend their technology environments.

    By Emily Olsen • June 13, 2024
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    Overturning of Roe v. Wade

    Supreme Court preserves access to abortion pill in unanimous ruling

    The high court said the plaintiffs’ “desire to make a drug less available to others” did not give them standing to challenge the FDA's approval of mifepristone.

    By • June 13, 2024
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    National health spending reached $4.8T last year, CMS actuaries estimate

    More Americans had insurance in 2023 than at any other time in the nation’s history, spurring medical utilization and accelerating healthcare spending faster than growth in the overall economy, according to government projections.

    By • June 12, 2024
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    MACPAC wants Congress to force states to disclose Medicaid financing streams

    The influential advisory group has been lobbying the federal government to collect more detailed information on how states loop providers into funding Medicaid for almost a decade.

    By • June 12, 2024
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    White House partners with Microsoft, Google on cybersecurity for rural hospitals

    The technology giants will offer free or low-cost cybersecurity tools to rural hospitals, which often have limited resources to combat the rising number of cyberattacks.

    By Emily Olsen • June 12, 2024
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    Court strikes down FTC’s latest attempt to block Novant-CHS deal

    This is the second time a district court has shot down the antitrust agency’s request to stop the deal. 

    By Susanna Vogel • June 12, 2024
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    Elevance wins star ratings lawsuit (sort of)

    Friday’s district court ruling is the latest suggesting the CMS might have to recalculate every MA plan’s star rating score due to an administrative oversight.

    By • June 11, 2024
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    Prospect files suit demanding Yale New Haven purchase its three Connecticut hospitals

    The health systems have been at odds over the deal, which was first announced in 2022.

    By Susanna Vogel • June 10, 2024
  • A line of New Yorkers wait on the sidewalk outside of a CityMD urgent care clinic.
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    Walgreens-backed CityMD settles with Justice Department over alleged COVID fraud

    From 2020 to 2022, CityMD falsely documented insured patients as uninsured before fraudulently billing the federal government for their COVID-19 care, according to regulators. CityMD denies the allegations.

    By • June 10, 2024
  • Two men stand on the sidewalk outside of an insurance agency.
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    Affordable Care Act insurers could be on the hook for $1.1B in rebates this year

    Rebates this year could cross the billion-dollar mark for the fifth time in the past decade, according to an analysis from the KFF.

    By • June 7, 2024
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    FTC cannot block $320M Novant, CHS deal

    A federal court struck a blow to antitrust regulators on Wednesday when it ruled that Novant’s purchase of two hospitals from CHS could go through, arguing the deal seems likely to promote competition in North Carolina.

    By Susanna Vogel • June 6, 2024
  • Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.
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    Wyden urges HHS to require healthcare cybersecurity standards

    Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said the agency’s approach to cybersecurity is inadequate and advocated for mandatory resiliency standards, periodic audits and technical support for providers.

    By Emily Olsen • June 5, 2024